The latest Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index (HBI) highlights a number of shifts in market conditions across the country, with national property market conditions moving from a balanced market in May 2014 to a buyer’s market in August 2014.

The latest report reveals mixed opportunities for buyers, with all state markets either showing buyer’s to extreme buyer’s markets or balanced conditions. The most favourable property market conditions for buyers continue to be seen in regional areas, despite a number of capital cities becoming more balanced between buyers and sellers.

The HBI is based on the ratio of properties available for sale compared with the number of housing loans that are being committed to by Commonwealth Bank.

The top five best buyer’s markets in Australia include:

Wide Bay-Burnett, Qld

Southern, Tas

Pilbara, WA

Upper Great Southern, WA

Mackay, Qld

Sydney and Melbourne have become the only seller’s markets at a capital city level, with Canberra dropping out of the top five seller’s markets in the country, as market conditions became more balanced in August 2014.

The top five best seller’s markets in Australia include:

Sydney, NSW

Melbourne, Vic

Loddon, Vic

Adelaide, SA

Ovens-Murray, Vic

The latest HBI report brings good news for many home buyers, says Lyn Cobley, Executive General Manager Head of Retail Products and Third Party Banking, Commonwealth Bank.

“The August report reveals some interesting opportunities for home buyers, particularly those looking to purchase a property in regional or coastal areas in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania. Prospective home buyers in these states should search for properties offering the best value for money in relation to their individual property requirements,” she says.

“With market conditions in Sydney and Melbourne continuing to be challenging for prospective home buyers it could be worth considering properties in outer suburbs where conditions are typically more balanced. However, it’s important home buyers in the South Eastern states continue to manage their budgets carefully, and understand what options they have when it comes to financing a property and what they might be able to compromise on to secure a home.”

The August 2014 report continued to note mixed market conditions across the states and territories.

State/Territory:

Market Conditions:

New South Wales

Balanced market – despite Sydney becoming the top seller’s market in the country, conditions at a state level have remained relatively balanced for the past 12 months ending August 2014.

Victoria

Balanced market – Melbourne became the second top seller’s market in the country and while most areas in Victoria are balanced, a number of the top seller’s markets in the country can be found in Victoria.

Queensland

Extreme buyer’s market – Queensland offers some of the best buying opportunities in the country, with regional coastal areas and the outer suburbs of Brisbane offering the best opportunities in August 2014.

South Australia

Balanced market – market conditions at a state and capital city level remained relatively unchanged in August 2014, with both South Australia and Adelaide showing a fairly equal level of power between buyers and sellers.

Western Australia

Buyer’s market – buyers regained the upper hand at a state level in the 12 months to August 2014, with some of the best opportunities for buyers in the regional areas of the state. In contrast, market conditions in Perth remain balanced in all but the central region of the city.

Tasmania

Extreme buyer’s market – conditions remain unchanged in August 2014, with the state continuing to be most favourable to buyers than any other state or territory.

Northern Territory

Buyer’s market – conditions became more favourable to buyers at a state and capital city level in August 2014.

Australian Capital Territory

Balanced market – having been one of the top seller’s markets in the country, conditions across the territory and capital city have balanced, with the number of buyers in line with the number of properties for sale in August 2014.

Prospective home buyers in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and Western Australia should note the favourable buying conditions, while those in Sydney and Melbourne should continue to be cautious when buying a new home, says Tim Lawless, National Research Director, RP Data.

“We saw a shift in a number of property markets, which gave buyers the upper hand in August 2014, while continuing good buying conditions in Queensland and Tasmania make these the most favourable states to buy a property,” he says.

“Overall, the latest report reveals regional and coastal property markets offer the best deals for buyers and the South Eastern capital city markets continue to favour sellers.”

The HBI is based on the ratio of properties available for sale compared with the number of housing loans that are being committed to by Commonwealth Bank. The findings from the HBI report are reflected in the Property Buy/Sell Index – a free online tool for prospective buyers that combines historical sales data and current market information to offer insight into whether a particular region is a buyer’s or seller’s market. The online Index includes expert commentary on each region, and also offers an overview of the national housing market.

The Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index provides an estimate of the level of supply and demand that is evident within the Australian real estate market. To calculate an estimate of supply, RP Data closely monitors the number of homes available for sale around Australia, including those from leading real estate portal, realestate.com.au and other real estate groups and advertising portals. On the demand side of the equation, Commonwealth Bank is the nation’s largest home loan lender, and as such can provide one of the timeliest and most representative estimates of housing demand in the market place. The HBI is produced across a range of geographic boundaries, from a national index to state level indices, major regional indices, capital cities and broad regions within capital cities.